Young
Q
: How much of a relief was it to win that Super Bowl 25 years ago?
A
: “We were in a state where the context is hard to imagine, where if you lose the Super Bowl, you need to leave town. It was, ‘Enough of this.’ We had a three-peat of championship games. It was elation but it was a relief as well. It had to get done.
I’m grateful it worked out. I don’t want to think the other way.”
Q
: Was it the most satisfying win of your Hall of Fame career?
A
: “The one before it was. We screwed up in ‘92 didn’t realize how good (the Cowboys) were going to get. And they were good. Beating the (‘94) Cowboys at their peak, that was the best team we beat in the best moment (for the NFC Championship).”
Q
: If you had beaten the Cowboys the previous year and Montana had won the AFC Championship with the Chiefs, who would have won that 49ers-Chiefs Super Bowl?
A
: “That would have been awesome. I remember they played first and got beat (30-13 at Buffalo). Look, who cares who you play, you just want to get there. The Cowboys, at their peak, we were playing them. I would have loved to play in the (1993 season) Super Bowl and didn’t care who we’d play.”
Q
: What do you remember most about losing to Montana and the Chiefs (a 24-17, Week 2 loss in 1994)?
A
: “It was a great game. It was a tough game. We were in it and there were big moments. Getting sacked for a safety was a big moment, and the relentlessness of that pass rush was tough. I remember thinking that was something I didn’t want to face every day.”
Q
: How good was this season’s road to the Super Bowl, not having to face New Orleans or Seattle in the playoffs?
A
: “The smoothest path was the one they saw, not to see Drew (Brees) or Russell (Wilson) is a good thing. And they were inches away from a 5th-seed to go to Philly. The stars have aligned here and it’s really good. But there’s a reason they’re good, and it is the foundation laid last year when they were 4-12. This ‘I Got Your Back’ thing, they really embodied it. They looked everybody in the eye, didn’t blink. They were a tough out. I really loved last year and how they played and I noticed it. Once they got things rolling, there’s the connective tissue you build that a lot of teams don’t. Every Monday (as an ESPN analyst), I see really good teams and watch them warm up and can see if they’re not together. I don’t care what play you call, if you’ve got 50 guys willing to sacrifice together in a real way rather than from a speech, they’re a tough team to beat, and that’s what they are. A lot of that is the leaders in the locker room are selfless, truly. They truly care about each other. That matters maybe more so as pro than high school. There’s so much money and notoriety around. They’re going to be tough to beat with that culture.”
Q
: And that culture is what Jed said you emphasized.
A
: “Jed intuitively knew what he wanted and two things are obvious: partnerships between owners, players, and coaches, and then accountability among each other. He tried that with Jim (Harbaugh) and it didn’t materialize. With Kyle, he went for it, to break down the barriers and to make partners with his GM, coach and players. “So few owners are true partners with players. It means a collective sense of partnership that we’re in it together.”
Q
: So that ties into the ‘I’ve Got Your Back’ mantra?
A
: “They invited me down and I tried to give these concepts. I told the story about Ronnie Lott. In one of my darkest moments in ‘90 or ‘91, Ronnie could see it, so he grabs my shoulder, looks me in eye and screams at me, ‘I got your back! You don’t need to worry!’ It meant the world to me he did that. I told the team that. If you really mean it and act that way to each
other, you’ll lose and be a tough out but you won’t lose very long. It resonated because I think it’s the truth. … You can’t have hubris. You can’t be insecure. You can’t have insecurity about your position and be an elitist.”
Q
: So how do you see the 49ers and coach Kyle Shanahan attacking the Chiefs?
A
: “It’s going to be a philosophical challenge for Kyle: ‘What do I want to accomplish?’ He could come out slinging it and throw it 55 times, or run it 55 times. He learned from his previous Super Bowl experience (with the 2016 Atlanta Falcons’ loss) that, ‘I’m not going to miss opportunities.’ I’d be interested in how he is philosophically thinking about it. Theoretically, you want to shorten the game, maybe reduce it to eight positions. ‘But what do I risk with that philosophy if Patrick Mahomes scores on six of them?’ What’s fun is the team has done all that, so he has the gears to draw on. More than anything, you need a philosophy on how do I want to attack the game. That’s the biggest challenge. Do I want to match their explosiveness, or shorten it and ground and pound with the ability to throw if needed?”
Q
: And, finally, what do you see from Jimmy Garoppolo?
A
: “He’s a big part of this culture that’s been built. He really, intensely wants to make the locker room great. That’s why he feels comfortable throwing the ball six times or 46 times. The youth of this team and where they are now, it’ll change with success, there will be a new dynamic. But the spirit he brings is super important, and he’s shown the capability of doing both, which is great. As in anything in the playoffs, the cautionary tale I learned is a couple of mistakes and the season is over.”